<p>Phil Smith is one of the most influential figures in New Zealand television.</p><p>You may not know the name, but you most definitely know some of his shows: The Casketeers, The Lion Man, One Lane Bridge, and the Jeremy Wells show Eating Media Lunch.&nbsp;Content that’s not just popular, but culturally iconic.</p><br><p>I’ve known Phil socially for a number of years now, and I just thought he was a cool guy who’d had a solid behind-the-scenes career in TV.&nbsp;What I didn’t realise is just how wild his story actually is:</p><br><p>Like working in Africa as a journalist and being caught in gunfire.</p><br><p>Getting arrested and locked up in Africa for a week, then pretty much dumped at the border with nowhere to go.</p><br><p>Living with THE Jane Goodall for a month and getting life advice from her over glasses of scotch.</p><br><p>We also get into how he went from all of that to working with Sir Paul Holmes at his peak, building and selling a company in his early 30s and creating some of New Zealand’s most successful TV shows.</p><br><p>This episode goes everywhere.&nbsp;It’s part war story, part business lesson, part creative deep dive… and somehow still just feels like a chat with a really intriguing Kiwi.</p><p>***</p><br><p>Massive thanks to my long-term podcast sponsors,&nbsp;Generate.</p><p>Generate is an award-winning KiwiSaver provider with a track record of delivering strong long-term returns for their clients- you can see their latest returns for yourself on their website.</p><p>I became a client when they came on board as the show sponsor and it’s been a gamechanger for me personally- I’m kicking myself for not doing it years earlier.</p><p>You can book a no obligation chat with one of their awesome KiwiSaver advisers at&nbsp;<a href="http://generatekiwisaver.co.nz/dom" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">generatekiwisaver.co.nz/dom</a></p><p><em>The issuer of the scheme is Generate&nbsp;Investment&nbsp;Management Limited. To see their Product disclosure statement see generatekiwisaver.co.nz/pds</em></p><p><em>Past performance does not guarantee future returns.</em></p><p>And just a reminder — everyone’s situation is different, so I recommend getting expert advice before making any financial decisions.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>